One Web site is making wedding registries more interesting for soon-to-be-marrieds and their guests.
With the tag line “Tickets not toasters,” WeddingTicketRegistry.com offers engaged couples the opportunity to request tickets to events, as opposed to more standard registry fare, like home accessories and appliances.
“I came up with the idea actually as a wedding guest,” company founder Bo Massopust recently told TicketNews. “[I was] disappointed with the registry options I had for some of my good friends getting married.”
When Massopust did attempt to buy event tickets as wedding gifts, he was met with frustration upon realizing that he had little idea of the couple’s tastes or schedules.
As a result, Massopust and his developers set out to build a Web site where couples could make their own wish list of event tickets, and their guests could avoid guessing games when buying. The Wedding Ticket Registry launched in July 2011, offering aggregate ticket listings from secondary sources such as TicketsNow, Ticket Liquidator and Vivid Seats.
Couples may register for events booked as far from or as near to their wedding date as they choose. After selecting tickets, the couple can alert guests via e-mail and Facebook links. Guests then select tickets from the registry, purchase them at the seller’s Web site, then return to the Ticket Registry to remove the tickets from the couple’s list.
The site is free for both couple and guests to use.
Couples have the opportunity to personalize their registry pages with photos, as well as notes to visitors regarding their choices. Massopust noted that registries using these personal touches tend to receive more ticket purchases.
Thus far, the registry has served 150 to 160 couples, according to Massopust. He explained, “We are seeing more and more couples use it. We’ve been in a couple of different bridal blogs, a bridal magazine. Brides are on those Web sites and blogs from the second they get engaged.”
One such couple received tickets to a New York Rangers game and a Cirque du Soleil show.
“It was so fun to have these events to look forward to after the wedding, and they gave us some really fun memories,” newlywed Courtney Kelley told TicketNews. “I know for us, we spent a lot of money on the wedding, so we wouldn’t normally have purchased those tickets on our own — it was a treat for us!”
Kelley said they and their guests found the site easy to use, adding that it was a welcome change from the standard wedding gift: “I have to say that after the eighth decorative vase, it was really a nice change of pace to get tickets to a fun event.”
Emily Hellmuth and her husband found that guests were excited to give the couple a different type of wedding gift. They also appreciated the opportunities for more connections with friends. As Hellmuth told TicketNews, “We love the idea that the people buying you the tickets [also] can buy tickets for themselves, so that you can enjoy the event with others.”
Since the site’s launch, Cirque Du Soleil productions and major league sporting events have been the most popular event tickets to register. Massopust believes these have sold well because their tickets tend to post months in advance, allowing ample time for couples to select and guests to buy.
Massopust cites these booking schedules as a major reason he encourages couples to return to their pages frequently in order to select additional events. He explained, “If a couple comes on in January to register for their July wedding, the concert dates aren’t out there. But the closer you get to the date, a lot more pop up.”
Massopust reports good relationships with the secondary sellers he uses on his Web site.
“This is why I use secondary ticket sellers: I want to make sure that tickets are available. Guests may pay a little premium, but they are guaranteed that the couple gets to go to the game or concert they want to,” Massopust said. “If you go through Ticketmaster, if the guest isn’t there the two days the tickets are on sale, the tickets are gone and the couple can’t go to the show.”